William Oliver Hess, age 77, died at his home November 22, 2009 after a brief illness with cancer. Mr. Hess was born in Momence, Illinois and moved to Lewis County from Richmond, Virginia. He was a veteran of the Korean War and cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana. He was a member of St. Peters Episcopal Church in Columbia, a member of the Lewis County Lions Club and a 16 plus gallon blood donor for the American Red Cross. Mr. Hess, a Certified Public Accountant, opened an accounting office in Lewis County in 1978 in the Cordell Hull Building and retired in 1999. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edmond and Mary Baker Hess; a brother, Edmond Jr. “Tinker”. Those surviving include his wife of 53 years, Catharine Mapp Hess; his children, Pamela Lynn Hess of Ft. Pierce, Florida, Gregory Edward Hess and Patrick William Hess of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Dolores Hess Hinson of Hohenwald; ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren; and one brother, Charles Elihu Hess of Armona Park, Illinois. Memorials may be made to the St. Peters Episcopal Church Outreach Committee in Columbia or to the American Red Cross.